Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems use multiple electrical devices that are connected together to perform a desired function. These electrical devices may be common devices that are obtained from third parties and used by various HVAC manufacturers in their particular HVAC units. As such, these electrical devices may have generic terminals, such as spade connectors.
With the generic terminals, the various electrical devices are often connected together using point-to-point wiring. Point-to-point wiring, however, can be labor intensive since individual harnesses are typically made for each particular connection. Point-to-point harnesses can also be more prone to errors. For example, with point-to-point wiring, wires can be connected in multiple positions and can even fit on wrong components. Additionally, with point-to-point harnesses, the harnesses can not be pretested. Instead, they are only tested after installed in the different HVAC units.
As such, it is essentially impossible to mistake proof the wiring during manufacturing of HVAC units when using point-to-point wiring. This can lead to incorrect connections of the wires during manufacturing and assembly. Accordingly, troubleshooting can also be difficult when employing point-to-point wiring with multiple components since faults may be due to wiring problems instead of faulty components. Thus, in addition to problems in manufacturing, it is also easier for the field to make incorrect wiring changes with point-to-point wiring. This can lead to errors in servicing a HVAC unit, which in turn can lead to a malfunction in the operation of the unit.